Ebisu
is a tokubetsu jōnin from Konohagakure who specialises in the private training of elite ninja, as stated by Kakashi Hatake. He is also the leader of Team Ebisu. Background In his youth, Ebisu was put on a team consisting of Might Guy and Genma Shiranui. During their Chūnin Exams, Ebisu and his team clashed with Team Minato in the Forest of Death where Guy quickly dispatched Obito Uchiha. When Kakashi Hatake is promoted to jōnin some time later, Rin gathers up the graduating class to plan a top-secret celebration which Ebisu took part in.Naruto chapter 599, pages 1-14 Personality Ebisu is portrayed as a stern and "by-the-book" type of person. Initially, he believed that Naruto Uzumaki was nothing but a worthless nuisance and mocked his dream of becoming Hokage as he believes that only people of high lineage could amount to anything. He said all this about Naruto however, out of the ignorance of not knowing who his father was. Upon seeing what Naruto had done for the village during the invasion, his perspective changed drastically. While being rather uptight, he has shown a true dedication to his village and students. Also, although he tries to be very professional, he has displayed some perverted traits, as shown from how he reacted to Naruto's pervert tactics. He has also been described by Naruto as a "closet pervert". Ebisu has a tendency to look into female bath houses. When perturbed, Ebisu often pushes his sunglasses up his nose. Appearance Ebisu has been portrayed as having dark hair and brown eyes and is never seen without his trademark sunglasses. Usually he is seen in the standard Konoha shinobi outfit, albeit without the flak jacket. He also wears his forehead protector like a bandanna. When deployed on missions, or if the situation calls for it he will don the flak jacket as part of his outfit. During his time in the Academy, Ebisu wore his hair swept to the sides of his face and wore a dark suit along with his signature glasses with a thin, light-coloured shawl of sorts around his shoulders with the two ends tied. When he achieved the rank of chūnin, he discarded the shawl, donned the bandanna-like forehead protector as well as a flak jacket. Abilities Ebisu is an elite trainer who has an extensive knowledge in basic to advanced forms of ninja skills. According to Kakashi, Ebisu is one of the most skilled trainers in Konoha,Naruto chapter 90, page 3 further emphasised from the fact that he was personally selected to train Konohamaru for the Academy, and was chosen by Kakashi to train Naruto for the Chūnin Exams. While he has not been shown using any ninjutsu per se, as well as not being seen much at all in battle in the manga, the anime has him demonstrate proficient skill in high-level ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone Technique. Ebisu was also shown to be proficient in taijutsu, able to go up against the Naraka Path. The anime also showed that he was skilled in Fire Release nature transformation as seen during the invasion of Konoha when he used the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique to repel several invading ninja. Stats Part I Introduction Arc He was first introduced as Konohamaru's tutor, and disliked the fact that Konohamaru idolised Naruto Uzumaki, as he only saw Naruto as the container of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. His opinion of Naruto didn't change even after Naruto "defeated" him with the Harem Technique. Chūnin Exam Arc Later, after being recommended by Kakashi Hatake as a great teacher, Ebisu began Naruto's one-month training for the main matches of the Chūnin Exams. By being with Naruto and seeing the influence he had on Konohamaru, Ebisu realised that Naruto was not just the container of a demon, but that he was an outstanding Konoha ninja. However, Ebisu did not complete Naruto's training, as Jiraiya took over by summoning a toad to knock Ebisu unconscious after Ebisu tried to interrupt Jiraiya peeking in on the women's bath. Naruto then insisted that Jiraiya take Ebisu's place. Invasion of Konoha Arc After Orochimaru's failed invasion, he is briefly seen attending the Third Hokage's funeral. Part II Kazekage Rescue Arc In Part II, he had been put in charge of a Genin team with Konohamaru and his two friends, Udon and Moegi, as its members. He now wears the standard flak jacket instead of his more casual outfit from Part I. He was introduced when the team had just finished their mission and were receiving payment. There he tried to stop Konohamaru complaining about the low rank of their missions, and tried to apologise to Tsunade for his student's behaviour. Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc Hidan and Kakuzu Arc In the anime, Ebisu was present at Asuma Sarutobi's funeral. Invasion of Pain Arc When Konohamaru nearly attracted the attention of Pain, Ebisu drew the Naraka Path's attention to himself so that Konohamaru would have a chance to escape. Pain asked him for Naruto's location, but Ebisu, having come to think highly of Naruto, refused at the risk of his life. Before he could be killed, however, Konohamaru arrived to save him by using the Rasengan, much to Ebisu's surprise. He is later seen celebrating Naruto's victory over Pain being supported by Konohamaru. Movies Naruto 5: Blood Prison During Naruto's flashback to the members of the village when he was gathering natural energy to enter Sage Mode, Ebisu can been seen amongst the villagers. Creation and Conception Masashi noted that unlike Konohamaru, Ebisu was much easier to create and his design was decided upon with the first sketch. He has also noted that he quite likes Ebisu's design, but he can't really explain why. Trivia * The name "Ebisu" comes from the Japanese god Ebisu, who is usually pictured as a fisherman who brings wealth and prosperity to those who believe, and watches over the health of young children. The god was also known as Hiruko. * According to the databook(s): ** Ebisu's favourite food is kamaboko and fried crab, while his least favourite is any cooking that uses carrots. ** Ebisu wants to fight the other tutors. ** Ebisu's favourite word is . ** Ebisu's hobby is to raise elite ninja. ** Ebisu has completed 498 official missions in total: 98 D-rank, 284 C-rank, 115 B-rank, 1 A-rank, 0 S-rank. * In the manga, when Ebisu push up his sunglasses he uses his middle finger. This is changed in the anime to him using both his middle and index finger. Quotes * (To the Naraka Path) "Well, well, aren't you having a fine time of it! Worthless scum… I will never forgive the likes of you!"Naruto chapter 426, page 6 * (To Pain) "Naruto is a citizen of Konoha! I have no intention of telling you Akatsuki people anything!"Naruto chapter 426, page 16 References